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Malia has no idea what time it is, but it has to be nearing midnight. It’s a lot colder than when they and Kira walked to the top of the hill. There are also a lot more people now, their laughter and whispers a hum in the background.
A sharp slap against their arm and Malia’s eyes fly open to glare at their girlfriend, who is grinning down at them.
‘Get up! It’s happening!’ Kira squeals, slapping them on the arm again. Around them, people are gasping, and exclamations of enthusiasm and wonder fill the night air.
The meteor shower. Malia scrambles up, the blanket cocooned around their legs hindering their movements. Kira, noticing their struggle, pulls the blanket off with a flick of her wrist. Malia shivers when their bare legs are exposed to the cool night air. They should’ve worn something warmer than shorts. Malia scrambles between Kira’s legs, resting their back against Kira’s chest and pulls the blanket up to their chin. Resting their head against Kira’s shoulder, Malia looks up at the sky.
‘Wow,’ Malia breaths in awe.
‘I know.’
They watch the meteors hit the atmosphere, large, brightly coloured streaks across the sky. The meteors start to fall apart, their blazing trails dividing into smaller ones, until they fall apart too. Malia watches the meteors fall apart and burn up until there’s nothing left of them but their brightness burned into Malia’s retinas.
Kira hadn’t stopped talking about the meteor shower when she found out about it a week ago. Malia hadn’t understood the fuss, it was just a bunch of rocks, but happily agreed to a road trip to a good viewing spot. The two of them had spent all day yesterday in the car, listening to music, Malia talking about an idea they had for a new cake for their bakery, Kira telling all the latest gossip floating around the radio station where she worked. They ate fries and burgers for lunch and dinner, then fell asleep the moment the crawled under the sheets in their motel. Today was spent grocery shopping for their nightly adventure, and Malia assuring Kira that there would be plenty of room on the hill they’d picked for the viewing, and that they didn’t need to be there twelve hours in advance.
Malia understands why Kira had gotten so excited about the meteor shower now.
The other people on the hill don’t stay long after it’s over. It’s chilly and it’s late. Parents who came with their kids are the first to leave. Then, some college kids, who Malia’s pretty sure were smoking pot earlier, grumbling about not having brought enough food, their high already wearing off, start making their way down the hill. The enthusiasts pack away their cameras and telescopes, prattling about the meteor shower in what seems a foreign language to Malia. Malia’s pretty sure there’s a couple having sex in the trees at the bottom of the hill somewhere, but they ignore the sounds and focus on Kira’s voice.
Kira’s telling the stories of the constellations, pointing them out, like she’s done every time there’s a clear sky since they started dating. Malia snuggles further into Kira and turns their face to watch their girlfriend. They’ve already memorised the stories, knows exactly where the stars are, from all the times Kira’s dragged her outside, into forests, their own little garden, parks, and one memorable time up a tree. Watching Kira tell the stories is far more interesting, her eyes lighting up, smiling at the happy parts of the myths, frowning at the sad.
Kira’s just started the story of Orion, when she realizes Malia isn’t watching the stars and looks down to frown at them.
‘You’re supposed to be looking at the stars when I’m telling you this. It’s such a clear night, and there’s barely any light pollution here. You might never see a more beautiful night sky for the rest of your life,’ Kira admonishes them.
Malia shrugs. They brush their lips over Kira’s. ‘I’m watching something far more beautiful.’
Kira huffs, but her smile tells Malia she’s blushing, even if it’s too dark for them to see Kira’s cheeks tinging pink.
‘So,’ Kira continues, looking back up at the sky, ‘after Orion was blinded and driven from the island of Chios, he wandered to Lemnos, the island where the god Hephaistos had his forge. There, Hephaistos told…’